This invention relates to improvements to a personal health monitor of the type that automatically collects information indicative of the physical condition of a patient in a log and then transmits the log to a central station for analysis by trained medical personnel.
In the past a wide variety of monitors have been proposed for recording information indicative of the physical condition of a patient. For example, Sarnoff U.S. Pat. No. 4,004,577, Karz U.S. Pat. No. 4,173,971, Citron U.S. Pat. No. 4,417,306, and Lisiecki U.S. Pat. No. 4,519,398 all disclose devices which store information indicative of heart function for later analysis. The Lisiecki device allows the user to record event marker signals to designate particular events on the stored record. Steffen U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,547 discloses a system which monitors multiple parameters, including breathing rate and body temperature, as well as pulse rate and blood pressure.
Dunning U.S. Pat. No. 4,296,756 discloses a remote pulmonary function tester which receives patient identification data, directs a test sequence, and then stores the test results for later transmission to a central computer. The patient identification data are entered in response to questions presented by the tester on a display.
Schneider U.S. Pat. No. 4,465,077 discloses a fertility computer which predicts fertility status based on temperature measurements and user supplied responses to questions related to relevant physiological conditions.
The foregoing patents have been referenced only by way of general background, because none of them relates to the improvements of this invention. As described in detail below, these improvements enhance the diagnostic value of the transmitted log, minimize false alarms to the central station, minimize unnecessary tests on the patient, and minimize the complexity and expense of the monitor itself.